IslamicFinance.de

The UK and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to help boost business opportunities and create jobs for thousands of women across the Middle East and North Africa. The Arab Women's Enterprise Fund will see the IDB and the Department for International Development working together to improve the competitiveness of women entrepreneurs in the Arab world. It will also address legal and cultural barriers that block women getting ahead in business. DFID will contribute £10 million to provide grants to help poor women access markets. IDB will match this with a further £10 million in Sharia-compliant Islamic finance.

Une dizaine de demandes d’agrément ont été soumises à Bank Al-Maghrib par des institutions jugées leaders dans l’industrie de la finance islamique. Ces institutions viennent essentiellement d’Asie, plus particulièrement du Moyen-Orient. Une bonne partie de ces institutions ont l’intention de créer des joint-ventures avec des banques marocaines. Certaines se sont déjà engagées avec des accords, d’autres sont toujours en négociation. Le PDG d’Al Baraka Banking Group Adnan Ahmed Yousif avait lui aussi confirmé un projet de banque islamique au Maroc avec un partenaire local. Concernant Attijariwafa bank, le groupe est toujours sollicité par les leaders mondiaux de la finance islamique.

Aston Martin has plans to reveal an overhauled model lineup at the Geneva auto show in March. Investindustrial S.p.A., owner of 37.5 percent of Aston Martin’s shares since 2012, has now announced new cash investments into the automaker if needed, according to the private-equity firm’s chairman, Andrea Bonomi. He also added that Investindustrial has no intentions in selling the holding in the near future – disclosing that their investment needs to mature over a period of seven to 10 years. The automaker has other main shareholders such as Kuwaiti companies Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co. Daimler also acquired a five percent stake in the company.

Islamic finance remains one of the bright spots in the global financial industry post the 2008 financial crisis. The industry is now finally poised to break into conventional financial markets in the West. For global investors, the sukuk (Islamic bond) market is probably the area of greatest interest within Islamic finance. Traditionally, governments and government-related entities in Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issuedsukuks denominated in the local currency to domestic investors. However, increased demand from global investors has led to increased cross-border issuance from non-traditional sources.

Standard Chartered Saadiq has launched an Islamic financial education programme this month. This programme aims to educate the UAE Community in the ways of responsibly handling their financial future in a Halal way. This programme comprises of a basic and an advanced module which focus on the prohibition of transactions which involve riba, fair distribution of profit and loss as well as prohibition of transactions which involves uncertainty or speculation. This is an extension of the Financial Education for Youth programme which Standard Chartered Bank has been running since 2013.

At the Sanabel conference in Dubai in October, it was impossible to ignore reminders of the crises enveloping the Arab World. While there are signs of some progress at the political levels, the reality on the ground in many countries remains stark. After the Sanabel conference, many donors and investors focusing on financial inclusion in the region gathered to discuss how they should respond or adapt their approaches. Over the next few weeks, several contributors will share additional insights into how they are coping and what lessons they have learned. In addition, there are several resources already available on this topic of post-crisis microfinance.

A nine member delegation comprising of leading Shari'a scholars from Morocco met with Mr. Rasheed Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain. The visiting delegation wants to learn from the Bahrain experience in Islamic finance. Mr. Al Maraj welcomed the eminent scholars and assured them of CBB's full support in their Islamic finance journey. During their three day visit the delegation met with the CBB officials, leading Shari'a scholars in Bahrain and global Islamic finance bodies such as AAOIFI, IIFM and CIBAFI. Morocco has been gearing up to offer Islamic financial services in the wake of strong domestic demand.

The British Muslim Awards sponsored by the Al Rayan Bank, formerly known as Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), aim to recognise a wide range of achievements which cover various aspects of society including business, charity, sport, arts and culture and much more. This year the event took place at the Chateau Impney Hotel, Worcestershire on Tuesday, January 27. Several nominees for each of the categories had been announced prior to the event. Categories include Muslim in the Community, Arts & Cultural Awareness, Young Achiever of the Year, Charity of the Year, Responsible Media of the Year, Religious Advocate of the Year, Muslim Woman of the Year, Best at Sport, among others.

Tawreeq Holdings, an investment group based in Dubai and Luxembourg, has launched an Islamic trade receivables financing platform catering to the Gulf region's small businesses, with plans to tap the capital markets to fund the venture. The firm's CEO Haitham Al Refaie said the concept aims to give smaller firms a funding alternative to bank loans. Besides start-up capital from regional investors, the firm plans to raise additional funds, he added without giving monetary figures. Tawreeq's platform provides sharia-compliant factoring by connecting corporates, suppliers and investors to securitise trade receivables.

New Islamic units of three state banks will accelerate Turkey’s plans to expand the share of Shari'ah-compliant assets, said Osman Akyuz, head of the country’s Islamic banking association. Akyuz foresees the country’s interest-free assets increasing by 30 per cent to $60 billion in 2015, up from 1.2 per cent growth in the 12 months through November. The association, which represents Turkey’s four Islamic banks, is also working to introduce new debt instruments, Akyuz said. Besides, the three state banks -- Ziraat Bank, Vakif Bank and Halkbank -- have pledged to quickly set up units for Shari'ah-compliant banking.

Despite the surge and purported popularity of Islamic finance, the industry is inconsequential in comparison to conventional finance. Islamic finance assets are heavily concentrated in the Middle East and Asia, and overwhelmingly in the Islamic banking sector. The Great Financial Crisis has caused a fundamental loss of trust by the general public in the financial system. Islamic finance should capitalise on this opportunity by highlighting its ethical standards and risk sharing principles. Nevertheless, there is a long road ahead for Islamic finance to achieve mainstream status. GCC governments need to take the lead to mainstream Islamic finance.

Banque Misr has registered total Shariah-compliant funding of two billion Egyptian pounds (US$135 million) by end of 2014. Banque Misr's Shariah-compliant deposits have totalled around 26 billion pounds. During fiscal year 2013/2014, Banque Misr had arranged a number of Islamic funding contracts including a US$110 million contract as pursuant to Mudaraba system. The bank had also implemented the first joint Islamic financing with Istisna'a followed by Ijarah system described in the disclosure to finance a project with a total value of about 1.07 billion pounds, Moreover, the bank had carried out the first Islamic finance in the Egyptian market with Musharakah Mutanaqisah system.

Family businesses in the GCC are looking to increase the number of women in senior management positions over the next decade to emulate the success of their global counterparts, says a new study. The joint study undertaken by Alsayedah Khadijah Bint Khawilid Center and Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) investigates the role of women in family businesses across the region. However, the study reveals there are still major obstacles for women hoping to participate in family businesses, particularly cultural perceptions of a patriarchal society and fierce competition from family members.

Tawreeq, an independent Dubai/Luxembourg based group, has launched a supply chain finance platform targeting SME’s. The company led a development process to devise a Shari'ah-compliant workflow for supply chain finance. At its core is an IT platform that connects all elements under a single, cloud-based system that allows global reach and service. Tawreeq tackles challenges faced by SMEs through cash-flow tools known as factoring and reverse factoring. Tawreeq has worked closely with Amanie Advisors to ensure Shari'ah compliance and certification of its products and processes.

The share of national income going to wages across industrialized countries has fallen from over 66 per cent in the early Eighties to around 61 per cent, according to the OECD. Globally, the decline is even sharper – from 62.5 per cent in 1980 to 54 per cent in 2010, according to the United Nations. Rising pay inequalities at the same time as a falling wage share mean even less of the rewards of growth go to the working people who create them. The World Economic Forum itself has at least finally put deepening income inequality at the top of its list of global concerns. The world economy is wage led, and if the wages increase, then the greater spending power boosts growth.

A call for a 'Marshall Plan' in the Arab world was made at the start of the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos. One speaker outlined his idea to have a fund to invest in large and small economic projects across the Arab world. The investment would come from Arab sources. There's tons of capital in the area, he said. Several other attendees agreed that such a fund can go ahead without the political stability. However, there are also dangers in the region, like having no change for decades and suddenly dramatic change. The long tradition of strong men and weak states has led to the hollowing out of the nation state and these issues are now coming to the fall.

Sabana Shariah Compliant REIT (SGX: M1GU) has released its full-year earnings for 2014 recently. The REIT focuses on industrial properties scattered around Singapore which are collectively worth around S$1.26 billion as at 31 December 2014. Despite seeing gross revenue for the whole of 2014 grow by 12.1% to S$100.3 million from a year ago, the trust’s net property income (NPI) actually declined by 9.2% to S$72.95 million. The decline was partly due to a huge 200% increase in property expenses for the trust. Income available for distribution to Sabana REIT’s unitholders followed suit with a 16.4% drop to S$51.6 million.

CEO of the Franco-American Alliance for Islamic Finance (FAAIF) Camille Paldi explains that there is a huge potential for Islamic finance in France. This is due to the fact that France is the fourth-ranked financial market worldwide and number one in the Eurozone and desires to attract liquidity from cash rich Gulf investors and Asia. This factor coupled with a large Muslim population and an open-minded and financially savvy general populace equates to a large success factor for Islamic finance in France. French officials forecast that France may attract US$120 Billion in Islamic assets through lending and investments in French businesses, property, and financial markets by 2020.

Gatehouse Bank is marketing a new CMBS-style transaction backed by the rental cashflow from a Paris office property. The deal is backed by an acquisition facility of more than EUR100m, where the rental payments will be securitised through two classes of fixed-rate certificates. This new structure, labelled a commercial rental-backed security (CRBS) by Gatehouse, removes the uncertainty because the certificates are backed by the direct legal ownership of the building. The bank will look to attract typical CMBS buyers, which are increasingly seeking to access this asset class.

Oikonomos is a film about the growing movement to transform economics education. There is an increased criticism of economics and economists not adequately dealing with our societal issues. That's why there is a strong plea to make economics education more pluralist and related to the real world, giving economists-to-be a bigger toolbox and wider range of perspectives when dealing with increasingly complex economies and societies. This project attempts to tell the story of this movement, and asks why and how students, academics, educational institutions and citizens are working to change economics education.